MUSIC & FESTIVALS

The Foo Fighters have announced a new album, Concrete and Gold, as well as a series of US tour dates in the fall.

The tour will run, playing arenas through mid-October to mid-December. Directly before the tour, they will host Cal Jam 17, a one-day festival also featuring Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood, Cage the Elephant, the Kills, Japandroids, and former Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. The festival name is a tribute to the original California Jam festival, which occurred in 1974.

Concrete and Gold will be released on September 15th through Roswell/RCA Records. The album was produced by Greg Kurstin, who has previously worked with Adele and Sia. Frontman Dave Grohl told Rolling Stone that “[Kurstin] is the guy we ask to be our producer because he’s never made a heavy rock record before and we’ve never worked with a pop producer.” So far, a single, “Run,” has been released and the band recently performed another new song, “Lah Dee Da,” at Iceland’s Secret Solstice Festival.

The Foo Fighter’s latest studio album was 2014’s Sonic Highways. The band also released an EP, Saint Cecilia, in 2015.

​New Zealand pop star Lorde (real name: Ella Yelich-O’Connor) has announced the North American portion of her Melodrama World Tour via her Twitter account. See the dates below.

The singer will crisscross the country from the beginning of March to late April, hitting arenas in every major market. The tour will feature an opening act that has yet to be announced.

Melodrama, Lorde’s sophomore effort, was released on June 16th to near universal acclaim. The album was produced and written almost entirely by O’Connor and collaborator Jack Antonoff. The follow-up to 2013’s Pure Heroine was preceded by the jarring, key-shifting single “Green Light” and, more recently, “Perfect Places.”

O’Connor, who is only 20 years old, told USA Today that Melodrama is not a concept album, but does revolve around a loose narrative of a house party which she described as an “interesting metaphor for young adulthood.”

Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd has extended his “Legend of the Fall” tour into the fall.

The newly announced set of dates will feature support from rapper Gucci Mane and Nav, who is signed to Tesfaye’s XO label. On select dates, French Montana will provide support.

The tour, which kicks off the week of Labor Day, will see The Weeknd playing arenas in major cities across the country. See the dates below.

The Weeknd’s latest, Starboy, was released in November 2016 via XO/Republic records. The album features guest appearances from Daft Punk, Kendrick Lamar, Future and Lana Del Ray and has been certified Double Platinum by the RIAA.

​Born and raised in Compton, California, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth is a 29-year-old award winning rapper, and songwriter. Growing up, Lamar always loved to write poetry, and he later turned these pieces into song. As a teenager he referred to himself as K-Dot, and upon the release of his first mix tape, he was signed by Top Dawg Entertainment.

With the help of local support Lamar’s reputation soared, and he began collaborating with big-name artists including The Game, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dog, and even Dr. Dre.

2011 brought the release of Lamar’s first independent studio album titled Section. 80. This album was a huge success, so Lamar worked relentlessly to produce more music for his fans. In 2012 Lamar released Good Kid m.A.A.d City, which ranked at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, and later was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

It comes as no surprise that after all of the acclaimed success Lamar proceeded to release 2 more albums, including his most recent titled, Damn. With a total of 7 Grammy Awards, it’s safe to say that Lamar is a respected artist within the hip-hop/rap genre. He has a loyal following due to the nature of his truthful, and soulful lyrics; including bits of his past, and the harsh realities of growing up in a gang-infested neighborhood, all of Lamar’s lyrics are filled with passion, which is why his fans love him so much.​His summer ’17 tour called DAMN is in officially in full swing, and it features Travis Scott, and D.R.A.M as headliners. According to fans, this tour is one to rave about!

I am sure we have all at some point heard one of Sia’s trendy new songs. It could have been on the radio, at a party, even walking through the store. Trying to think of who she is? "Chandelier" and "Cheap Thrills" are two of her popular songs. Still guessing? Sia is the new artist that is famous for wearing wigs so big they cover her face.

So why does Sia cover her face? Let’s back up and look inside to see who Sia is, was, and where she has been. Some artists have their unique style, as Sia has her wigs, but she was not always hiding behind her hair.

Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, 41, grew up in South Australia. As a young child, she loved to sing to Aretha Franklin, Sting and Stevie Wonder. Around the mid-1990’s, she started her career as a singer in a local Adelaid acid jazz band, Crisp. Around 1997, Crisp disbanded and Sia released her first album, Only See. This Trip Hop album didn’t succeed as well as she hoped it would. Sia continued to release music and change her genres slightly, in attempt to entice the mainstream audience.

Only See – 1997 – Trip Hop

Healing is Difficult – 2001 - Trip Hop/Alternative Rock

Colour the Small One – 2004 – Indie Pop/ downtempo

After her release in 2004 of Colour the Small One, she decided to move to New York City and tour the country, releasing her fourth and fifth studio releases.

Some People Have Real Problems – 2008 – Indie Pop

We Are Born – 2010 – Indie pop/new wave/ Synthpop/ R&B

All of a sudden, we no longer saw any new music released from Sia. She took a hiatus from the music industry.

Once Sia finally resurfaced as the rebranded Pop singer, making her current level of fame after her hit song in 2011 with David Guetta, "Titanium". Sia was asked why she was hiding her face. In 2013, Sia wrote in Billboard about her decision. “If anyone besides famous people knew what it is was like to be a famous person, they would never want to be famous.”

Sia also explained to Chris Connelly on Nightline in 2014, “I don’t want to be critiqued about the way that I look on the internet. I’ve been writing pop songs for pop stars now for a couple of years and I’ve become friends with them and see what their life is like and that’s not something I want.”

She would always reply with a simple answer until 2016, when she had her Carpool Karaoke with James Corden and divulged deeper into her concealment. "I was a singer for 10 or 11 years to mediocre success. I was an alcoholic and a drug addict, and I sobered up and I decided I didn’t want to be an artist anymore because I was starting to get a little bit famous and it was destabilizing in some way," Sia revealed. "I thought, ‘What doesn’t exist in pop music at the moment?’ And it was mystery! I was like, 'There’s pictures on Instagram of everyone at the dentist.'"

So as a result of her desire to not be recognized everywhere she went as a famous singer, Sia made the decision to conceal her face to do what she loves and remain mysterious. Sia’s latest CD, This is Acting, are all songs that she had written for other female pop artists, but were not included on their albums. Sia described songwriting for others as “play-acting”, hence the album title. Her playing dress up in bows and wigs plays in nicely with her “play-acting” theme too.

If you are curious about the faceless singer we have come to know, she doesn’t hide too far. You can always see her out attending different events, leaving her wigs at home. Although, you would never know it is her without the stylish bow. Now that we have seen through the wigs, take a beat, maybe pull up some of Sia’s old Indie Pop songs and take the journey through her transformation to the Woman behind the Wig.

Indie Rockers Arcade Fire have announced plans for a new album and accompanying tour. See the dates below.

The follow-up to 2013’s Reflektor will be titled Everything Now and will be released on July 28th via Columbia Records. The album will contain a song of the same name, which was sold previously as a 12” single at Primavera Sound festival. Everything Now was produced by Arcade Fire, Steve Mackey, Markus Dravs and Thomas Bangalter (of Daft Punk). Frontman Win Butler recently told Zane Lowe of Beats 1 radio that the album will features contributions from Geoff Barrow of Portishead.

The band have also released a video for the title track, which features synthesizer contributions from Bangalter.

As far as touring arrangements go, Arcade Fire will headline Sunday night of Lollapalooza in Chicago on August 6th before embarking on the “Infinite Content” tour. Support will come from Wolf Parade, Broken Social Scene, Angel Olsen, Phantogram, Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Grandmaster Flash on select dates.

Time does not heal all wounds. Back in 2002 the boys of ‘N sync merely said they were taking a break, going on a “hiatus” if you will and that there was nothing to worry about. Once Justin Timberlake’s Justifed was released later that year some started to question whether or not this boyband would ever release another album together. Those fears have been more than realized as here we are almost two decades later and the men seem to be allergic to the word “reunion”.

Like the Backstreet Boys, ‘N sync found early success overseas before hitting it big in the US after securing their own Disney Channel special, guest appearance on hit TV show, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and opening for Janet Jackson on her “Velvet Rope Tour”. Their debut album would go on to be certified diamond for selling more than 10 million copies. In 1998 they released a Christmas album and would later file a lawsuit to break free of their management.

After much contention and threat of losing their name, ‘N sync prevailed and found a new home and released their record setting album, No Strings Attached in March of 2000. Selling 2.42 million records in the first week of release, this record would stay in place until 2015. In 2001, Celebrity was released selling 1.8 million in its first week and spurred a stadium tour that would go on to gross 90 million dollars. They embarked on an arena tour in 2002 that has since become their last tour ever.

How are the solo efforts going?

Justin Timberlake – He may be the granddaddy of them all, the one every boyband member breaking free from their boyband hopes to be. Justin Timberlake took pop music by storm as a fresh faced, ramen noodle headed 16 year old. Jump to 20 YEARS LATER and JT is still as smooth as silk, most recently getting nominated for an Academy Award for his song “Can’t Stop the Feeling”. Timberlake’s first solo effort debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart selling 439,000 copies in its first week. Since then, the album has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. His second effort wouldn’t be released until four years later, Future Sex, Love Sounds debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and an extensive tour followed. His latest efforts The 20/20 Experience Part 1 and 2 were released separately but they both debuted at number one. This tour would last for two years and become one of the highest-grossing tours of the decade. Fans are impatiently waiting his next studio album.

JC Chasez – Arguably the best singer in the group, once JT made his debut it seemed obvious that JC would follow suit. His first effort at solo stardom came in the shape of 2002’s “Blowin Me up with Her Love” from the Nick Cannon movie, Drumline. Peaking at number 35 on the Hot 100 this often forgotten about song was simply overshadowed by his own friend’s debut. Two years later, Chasez released his album, Schizophernic that boasted the names of Basement Jaxx and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The album was aptly titled because there wasn’t a cohesion from one song to the next. Failing to propel him in the same way Justified did, Chasez left his label and through internet leaks, he seemed to have what appeared to be enough songs to release a 2nd effort but it never made its way out of the studio. He has since gone behind the scenes writing songs for pop stars, including Backstreet Boy, AJ McLean.

Chris Kirkpatrick – The eldest member of ‘N sync joined another band, Nigels 11, he competed on CMT’s Gone Country (and faired quite well) and also appeared on VH1’s Mission: Man Band which had Bryan Abrams of Color me Badd fame, the late Rich Cronin of LFO and Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees all move into Kirkpatrick’s house to form a “Man Band” called Sureshot. The group lived together for three weeks and recorded songs to pitch to record executives to get a record deal. They did not get a record deal and needless to say this group was short lived. Kirkpatrick has lent his voice to Nickelodeon's cartoon The Fairly Oddparents​.

Neither Lance nor Joey tried their hand at releasing music outside of ‘N sync. Instead they both took turns on Broadway, competed on Dancing with the Stars and have stayed in the spotlight in other ways. Most recently, Lance Bass was part of Meredith Vieira’s morning talk show and Joey Fatone hosted Rewrapped on the Food Network, competed on Chopped and has opened his own hot dog and Italian ice eatery, Fat One’s inside the Florida Mall in Orlando, Fl.

While ‘N sync did take the stage at the MTV VMA’s in 2013, the short lived “reunion” was a mere tease of even lesser things to come. It is clear that the guys are still friends, as they are photographed at each other’s birthday parties but there has been no indication from anyone that they would ever release new music or tour as a legacy act. ‘N sync is expected to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later this year but the chances of ever seeing the guys perform again seem to be slim to none.​Verdict? Staying solo.

When you hear the name John Mayer, the sound of blissful vocals should ring in your head. This widely accredited singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer has a long history of musical talent behind him, and you can expect to see him at an arena near you this summer!

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer knew he had a special talent from a young age. His musical career began when he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, however, not long after enrolling he dropped out to form a short-lived, two-man band called Lo-Fi Masters. From here, Mayer began performing at local clubs to continue building credibility for himself, before he was asked to perform at the South by Southwest festival in 2001. After a powerhouse performance, Mayer was signed on to Aware Records, and later picked up by Columbia Records where his career soared.

In 2001, Mayer recorded his first full-length album titled Room for Squares, and in 2003 he released Heavier Things. Both albums did extremely well commercially, receiving multi-platinum status, and they even landed Mayer a Grammy award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Although Mayer typically focused his talents in the acoustic rock genre, he also began exploring the blues genre. After discovering success with this new journey, Mayer began collaborating with big-name artists including B.B. King, and Eric Clapton. He continued to release new albums, all of which were extremely successful, granting him two more Grammy awards. By 2014, Mayer had sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.

Most recently, Mayer developed an interest in the band Grateful Dead. Connecting with Bob Weir, Mayer decided to form a band himself called Dead & Company, with three former Grateful Dead members. After two successful tours, the group decided to carry out their talent, and sign on to a 2017 summer tour.​With a total of 8 Grammy awards, this talented American singer-songwriter will be delivering show stopping performances near you this summer on The Search for Everything tour.

Nas and Lauryn Hill will join forces for a North American tour this fall. Support will come from Chronixx and comedian Hannibal Buress on select dates.

The two co-headliners have a history together. They went on a similar tour in 2012, after Nas released his latest album, Life is Good. Hill also collaborated with Nas on his 1996 single, “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That),” which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1997.

The tour will kick off September 7th in Chicago, mostly stopping at outdoor amphitheaters before wrapping up October 11th in Vancouver.

Nas has been quite a bit more active than Hill in recent years, releasing the aforementioned Life is Good in 2012 and contributing to the recently-cancelled Netflix original series The Get Down. Hill hasn’t released anything since 2002’s MTV Unplugged, although her lone solo album, 1998’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, is consistently listed on critic’s best-of lists and has sold over 19 million copies worldwide.

Their debut album barely made a blip on their New England hometown radar. New Kids on the Block would perform wherever they could, bars, school dances, you name it– they sang at it. It is surprising that the boyband from Boston was even given another shot.

Their second album, Hangin’ Tough started off slow but after they were given the opportunity to open for then pop sensation Tiffany, things started to go their way. So much so in fact that when the two acts toured together again, Tiffany opened up for them! “Please Don’t Go Girl” eventually peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 Single Chart and then “I’ll Be Loving You (Forever)” peaked at number one. Riding high on their success their third album was a Christmas album which gave them yet another top 10 single “This One’s for the Children”. Their next album Step by Step saw them reach even more success as the title track gave them yet another number 1 hit. Soon the boys from Boston were plastered over everything and we mean everything! Lunchboxes, buttons, comic books, they even had their own Saturday morning cartoon!

But all good things must come to an end, by 1993 music tastes were shifting away from pop music and even though they tried to remain relevant, (they started going by NKTOB) their album Face the Music failed to live up to their previous albums. Jonathan Knight left the band in ’94 and the rest of the group disbanded shortly after.

Who went solo?

Jordan Knight – In 1999 Knight released his first solo effort, “Give it to You” and it peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. His self-titled album went on to sell 1.5 million records worldwide. In a perfect of example of things coming full circle, Jordan Knight a former boyband member became an opening act for new boyband, ‘N Sync on their 1999 “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” tour. It wouldn’t be until 2005 when Knight would release new music, The Fix featured “Where is Your Heart Tonight” which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. In 2006 he released Unfinished and in 2014 teamed up with Backstreet Boy, Nick Carter for Nick & Knight.

Joey McIntyre – Also in 1999, McIntyre tried to find his footing as a solo artist. He used his own money to record his album Stay the Same and the single of the same name would go on to peak at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. His second album Meet Joe Mac failed to chart. He would go on to release 8:09 and Talk to Me.

Donnie Wahlberg stayed in the spotlight but as an actor, while Jonathan and Donnie Wood lived under the radar.

Then in 2008, all five members of NKOTB reunited for their first album in 14 years, The Block. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and they embarked on a reunion tour. Riding their success all the way to the ocean the band would also hit the high seas for a NKOTB concert cruise with their fans. They would tour again in ’09 and hit the seas again in 2010.

Because nothing should surprise anyone in the world of pop music, in 2011 NKOTB joined forces with BSB to form NKTOBSB and the two boybands toured together and released a compilation album that included two new songs.

In 2013, the New Kids, sans BSB, released 10 which debuted on the Billboard 200 at number six. Tours with 98 Degrees, Boyz II Men, and Paula Abdul would follow.

So what’s the verdict? Better together.

Our boyband turned solo men #TBT series concludes next week when we talk about ‘N sync.

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